And Whitehorse Council, which had hoped to restrict high-rise development, has been handed a damning rejection by a panel of expert government planning advisers.

Box Hill is undergoing one of the biggest building booms in Melbourne's history, as the city's population expands to an expected 8 million by 2050.

Dozens of towers, some rising to as high as 36 levels, have been built or approved over the past five years.

To bring order to the boom, Whitehorse Council applied to Planning Minister Richard Wynne to alter rules for the suburb to cap tower heights at 30 storeys - or 90 metres - and contain them in a "major development precinct" surrounding Whitehorse Road.

But Planning Panels Victoria, which ran public hearings into the proposal in July, have found in a report to Mr Wynne that Whitehorse Council's proposed Box Hill height limits lack "strategic rigour" given the importance of the area to Melbourne's future.

The panel said the council's proposed planning guidelines were unusable.

"The panel could find no identifiable rationale for the heights proposed," their report said.

"The proposed preferred heights are not based on a well-founded understanding of the future urban form for the centre."

While it lashed the council, Planning Panels Victoria called on Vicinity - owner of Box Hill Central shopping centre - to "develop a comprehensive proposal for its land and then prepare an appropriate suite of planning controls to facilitate and guide development".

Vicinity Centres owns Box Hill Central, two shopping centres close to the railway and bus stations.

It also owns half of the country's biggest shopping centre, Chadstone.

The centre operator wants to redevelop its properties into high-rise towers and had criticised Whitehorse Council's attempts to impose 15-storey height limits on its land.

Vicinity has accused the council of trying to "frustrate" the site's potential in a suburb earmarked in state government plans for major development since 1954.

Booming Box Hill was described in July by real estate agency Savills as the city's hottest property market.

The council defended its plan, and said the panel's report was "emotively written".

Whitehorse mayor Denise Massoud said its findings could limit the ability of councils to plan for the residents they were meant to represent.

"Councillors around the state are starting to question how much influence they can exercise on behalf of their communities," Cr Massoud said.

Cr Massoud said the council had tried to manage the heights of towers and "maximise positive outcomes" for residents.

This approach had not been accepted, she said.

A spokesman for Mr Wynne said it was the council's job to assess the panel report and decide if it wanted to adopt or abandon the plan.